Warp Zoned Presents
Video Game Canon- Angry Birds, Dragon Quest, FIFA Soccer, and Silent Hill are the World Video Game Hall of Fame’s Class of 2026
- 2025 GOTY Scoreboard: In Progress
- BAFTA Games Awards: All the Winners from 2003 to Today
- Clair Obscur Completes the Sweep by Winning “Best Game” at 2025-2026 BAFTA Games Awards
- Boss Fight Books to Get a New Look for Richard Moss’s “Age of Empires”
Warp Zoned Presents
- Video Game Research Library
- How a Second-Grade Teacher Revived a Beloved Video Game – The New York Times (2026)
- Spore: An oral history – Design Room (2026)
- We Pitched a Museum a 1993 Game Hint Line (And They Actually Said Yes) – Yarn Spinner (2026)
- The History Of The Word “Metroidvania” And How It Spread – A Critical Hit (2025)
- Creator of Hit Game Shovel Knight Is at a ‘Make or Break’ Moment – Bloomberg (2025)
Most Recent: Articles
Incognita (now known as Invisible Inc.) early access alpha now available
Incognita was one of our favorite games from PAX Prime, and the trailer above should show why. It’s a thrilling, fun strategy game, full of quick decisions and interesting graphics. I love the character designs, and while the new name – Invisible, Inc. – isn’t quite as cool as Incognita, I’ll still buy it.
Speaking of buying it, the game is now available for pre-order, which gives you early access to their alpha build. Klei Entertainment has priced the game at $19.99, but if you buy it now, you can get it for $16.99. You can also opt for the version that comes with the soundtrack for $19.99 (the soundtrack is not finalized yet, but you’ll get the tracks as they’re made available). Place your order through their website now. Buying now gives you a Steam key, but it can only be purchased through the official Invisible, Inc. site for now. You’ll be able to order the game on Steam once the Beta is available.
Keep in mind that if you pre-order it now, you’ll be playing the alpha version, which has some bugs, and could be tremendously different than the final version. But the bonus is that you’ll be able to play the game now, and give the developers feedback on what you think about it as they make updates. The game was fun back in September, so I can’t imagine how great it must be now.
The full version of Invisible, Inc. will be released sometime in 2014. Only the PC version is available now, but Klei says that more information on other platforms will be forthcoming.
Posted in News, PC
Tagged Invisible Inc
Weekly Warp-Up: 2013 Money, Money, Money Edition
No, that’s not a typo. Welcome to the Weekly Warp-Up, your weekly wrap-up of the biggest and the best articles posted at Warp Zoned this week…
The NPD Group has released their findings on the state of retail video game sales for December 2013 as well as the 2013 Full-Year Report. Call of Duty: Ghosts was the big moneymaker in December while Grand Theft Auto V was the best-selling game of 2013 as a whole.
Meanwhile, Nintendo delivered some bad financial news to their shareholders as they revealed that the 2013 sales forecast for the Wii U has been cut from nine million consoles to 2.8 million consoles. But that’s OK. They’re Nintendo… they’ll be fine.
More news from the previous seven days can be found after the break. (more…)
Posted in News
Star Wars 1313 trademark abandoned by Disney
Even though we all hoped that Star Wars 1313 might be released someday, it looks like LucasArts/Disney has instead fed the unfinished game to the Sarlacc. According to the Star Wars 1313 filing at the US Patent and Trademark Office, LucasArts/Disney abandoned the game’s trademark on December 23, 2013 by failing to apply for an extension.
Star Wars 1313 made its worldwide debut during E3 2012 and wowed critics and fans alike with its gritty new take on Coruscant’s underworld. After Disney purchased LucasArts, we learned that the game would have ultimately starred a young Boba Fett.
With 1313’s official cancellation, Star Wars fans will instead have to look forward to EA’s Star Wars: Battlefront and an untitled game in development at Visceral Games, both of which aren’t expected to be released until 2015 at the earliest.
Posted in News
Tagged Star Wars 1313
DriveClub stuck in neutral, won’t be ready for PS4’s Japanese launch in February
Evolution Studios’ next-gen “social racer” DriveClub certainly showed a lot of promise back when it was first revealed at the PlayStation 4 introduction back in February 2013. It was initially promised as a launch title, but it skipped the North American and European windows, and now looks to bypass the Japanese launch window as well. According to Siliconera, Sony has officially delayed the Japanese release of the game, from February 22nd (the launch date of the PS4 in Japan), to the ominous “To Be Determined (TBD).”
While no official reason has been given, the most likely scenario is that the game still requires a good deal of polish, not only for the visuals but for the game’s ambitious social feature to work as it was originally envisaged.
Evolution told IGN that it will reveal the revised release date of DriveClub shortly:
“The team at Evolution Studios are working hard to bring DriveClub, a truly next gen driving experience to PS4 and we will announce the release date shortly. We’re really excited about how DriveClub is progressing and thank you for your patience.”
Given the recent bad press surrounding games being released rushed and full of bugs, Sony may want to take its time with what could be a very important franchise for the future.
Valve rethinks Steam Controller, now looks like every other controller
Valve’s original Steam Controller was a rather unconventional piece of kit. But a newly revealed modified version of the controller put it more in line with a standard controller. The new Steam Controller will feature a traditional d-pad and four face buttons (A, B, X, Y) in the standard diamond formation where previously there was a touchscreen akin to a smaller version of the Wii U GamePad.
The change makes it analogous to the PlayStation 4’s DualShock 4 and the Xbox One controller, meaning games designed for consoles could be more easily adapted to work with Valve’s new toy. Like the latter, the controller will also use AA batteries rather than a dedicated battery pack, which is a bit of a let-down given how easy it is to charge the likes of the DualShock or GamePad using a cradle dock or mini-USB cable. It will also be packed with an internal gyroscope and players will be able to use a whopping 16 Steam Controller at once if the game supports that many.
Valve has also hinted that more changes to the controller may happen in the future, as the company constantly seeks to refine it during the beta testing process. It seems the developer is keeping future VR headsets in mind while molding the Steam Controller, meaning it could be only part of what Valve has in mind.
[Source: Games Industry International]
Daily Scoop: January 17, 2014 – Ready for a long weekend
It’s Friday, woo! I’m really excited about having a three-day weekend, mainly because I want to play some more video games. I finished up Papers, Please yesterday (which I highly recommend buying right now) and I am looking forward to getting through some other games I’ve started. And maybe, you know, doing laundry, or something. (Boring.)
Looking for some new indie games? Check out the latest bundle over at Indie Royale! Pay more than the average for PixelJunk Shooter (one of my all-time favorites!), Gun Monkeys, Megabyte Punch, Ride ’em Low, Stronghold HD, and Hexcells. Pay $7 or more to unlock a bonus album!
Steam is also having a great deal this weekend – they’re offering 50% off of Saints Row IV (putting it down to a smooth $19.99), and you can play it for free until Sunday at 1PM PST! Now’s your chance to play this ridiculous sequel and decide if you want to buy it (though if you do, you might want the Wub Wub edition. Just saying.).
And now, for today’s t-shirts! (more…)
Posted in Daily Scoop, Etcetera, News
Nintendo cuts 2013/2014 sales forecast for Wii U by 70%
It’s no secret that we here at Warp Zoned love the Wii U and want to see it succeed (just look here or here or here). However, it looks like that success will have to happen sometime in the future as Nintendo has announced that they’re cutting their Wii U sales forecast for the April 2013-March 2014 period by almost 70%.
Nintendo originally predicted that they would sell nine million Wii U consoles across the globe during the 12-month period. But now, they have revised that number down to 2.8 million. The company also expects to post their third consecutive annual operating loss. Sales expectations for the 3DS were also revised down. Previously pegged at 18 million, Nintendo now believes they’ll sell only 13.5 million during their fiscal year.
According to Reuters, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata apologized to shareholders and confirmed that he has no plans to resign: “There will be no major management shake-up in the short term,” Iwata said.
While 2013 was a rough year for Nintendo, their 2014 could be looking up as they plan to release at least a dozen games for the Wii U and 3DS including Super Smash Bros. 4, Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Bayonetta 2, X, Bravely Default, and several others.
Grand Theft Auto V is the best-selling (and most wanted) game of 2013
The NPD Group previously declared Call of Duty: Ghosts the best-selling game of December 2013, but Activision’s military shooter fell a bit short in the full-year competition. With Ghosts in second place, you might have guessed that Rockstar’s Grand Theft Auto V was the best-selling retail game of 2013… and you’d be right.
Sequels and sports games dominate the list, but the universal appeal of Disney allowed Disney Infinity to crack the top ten at #10. At #9, the retail version of the mighty Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition also made the list.
Here’s the complete top ten of 2013’s best-selling retail games:
Best-Selling Retail Games of 2013
1. Grand Theft Auto V (Xbox 360, PS3)
2. Call Of Duty: Ghosts (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, PC, Wii U)
3. Madden NFL 25 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One)
4. Battlefield 4 (Xbox 360, PS3, Xbox One, PS4, PC)
5. Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, Wii U, PC)
6. NBA 2K14 (Xbox 360, PS3, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
7. Call of Duty: Black Ops II (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii U, PC)
8. Just Dance 2014 (Wii, Xbox 360, Wii U, Xbox One, PS3, PS4)
9. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (Xbox 360)
10. Disney Infinity (Xbox 360, Wii, PS3, Wii U, 3DS)
[Source: Joystiq]
Posted in 3DS, News, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Tagged Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Disney Infinity, Grand Theft Auto V, Just Dance 2014, Madden NFL 25, Minecraft, NBA 2K14, NPD